[EM] STV and weighted positional methods

[Kathy Dopp]

On Sun, Feb 1, 2009 at 12:06 AM, Jonathan Lundell <jlundell at pobox.com> wrote:

> I know what you mean. I tried to automate STV with two tin cans and a
> string, and got nowhere at all. STV sucks.
>

Jonathan,

Don't know what you're trying to say.  If you mean that a spreadsheet
won't work to automatically count STV, then that just shows how
nontransparent the STV counting process is that an ordinary citizen
who doesn't do computer programming and have programming tools and
training cannot with out huge effort and time check the accuracy of
any STV election by simply checking the tally during the canvass
period, even if all the individual ballot choices of every voter are
publicly published.

Other methods, such as Condorcet and certainly the easy range or
approval are trivially easy to count with a spreadsheet.

BTW, I am against using any method where voters can only cast one vote
for filling two or more at-large seats because this takes away votes
from the voter - especially when using a single STV vote method to
fill two or more at-large seats where sometimes your second choice
will never be counted, even though your first choice ends up losing
and even though you would have, under the plurality method, been
allowed to cast two votes to fill the two at-large seats as it should
be.

The more I've learned about STV and IRV, the more amazed I am that
anyone would consider using such an unfair method in any election,
especially to cast one vote for a multi-seat contest where your second
choice may never even be counted.
-- 

Kathy Dopp

The material expressed herein is the informed  product of the author's
fact-finding and investigative efforts. Dopp is a Mathematician,
Expert in election audit mathematics and procedures; in exit poll
discrepancy analysis; and can be reached at

P.O. Box 680192
Park City, UT 84068
phone 435-658-4657

http://utahcountvotes.org
http://electionmathematics.org
http://kathydopp.com/serendipity/

Post-Election Vote Count Audit
A Short Legislative & Administrative Proposal
http://electionmathematics.org//ucvAnalysis/US/paper-audits/Vote-Count-Audit-Bill-2009.pdf

History of Confidence Election Auditing Development & Overview of
Election Auditing Fundamentals
http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/paper-audits/History-of-Election-Auditing-Development.pdf

Voters Have Reason to Worry
http://utahcountvotes.org/UT/UtahCountVotes-ThadHall-Response.pdf